E. B White’s timeless tale of an unlikely friendship between a spider and Pig in Charlotte’s Web is the most popular children’s paperback of all time.
Published in 1952, Charlotte’s Web embodies numerous life lessons, and messages applicable to children of all ages in any era.
This charming tale unravels at a beautiful pace to give readers an authentic sense of the cycle of life on Zuckerman’s farm.
Charlotte, ( the spider ) uses all of her charm, energy and wit to prove to Wilbur, ( the pig ) and subsequently, the whole community everyone is unique and talented. Furthermore, she exemplifies to all that a little act of kindness can go a very long way.
The story has been retold in a number of formats but is best applied to students as a text. There are numerous plays and screen adaptations of this timeless tale but the 2006 cinematic version starring Dakota Fanning is an excellent screen adaptation of E.B White’s book.
We hope you enjoy our Charlotte’s Web collection. And be sure to check out our other significant literary collections, including Where the Wild things Are, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Charlotte’s Web at a glance
Charlotte’s Web is a 1952 children’s novel by E. B. White about Wilbur, a pig saved from slaughter by his friend Charlotte, a spider who spins words about him into her web. It is a story about friendship, loyalty and the cycle of life, told in 22 short chapters, and it remains one of the most widely taught novels in upper primary and elementary classrooms.
| Author | E. B. White (illustrated by Garth Williams) |
| Published | 1952; a Newbery Honor book in 1953 |
| Length | 22 chapters, about 180 pages |
| Best for | Ages 8 to 11 (grades 3 to 5), as a read-aloud or class novel |
| Genre | Animal fantasy; classic children’s novel |
| Setting | The Arable farm, the Zuckermans’ barn and the County Fair, across one year |
| Main characters | Wilbur, Charlotte, Fern Arable, Templeton |
| Big themes | Friendship and loyalty, life and death, the power of words, growing up |
On this page: 12 free lesson plans · characters · themes · chapter-by-chapter study guide with vocabulary and questions · a five-week novel study plan · the free complete unit.
FREE COMPLETE CHARLOTTE’S WEB UNIT. Every lesson plan on this page, plus worksheets, answer keys, a word search and a crossword: 66 print-ready pages for ages 8 to 12. Get the whole unit free (pop in your email and the download link appears straight away).
Teaching the story elements of Charlotte’s Web
Students will identify the 5 story elements; setting, theme, characters, plot (events), and conflict (problem) from the chapter book Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. When students can identify story elements it helps to build an understanding of the text being read.
Summarizing the key elements of Charlotte’s Web
This activity will allow students to develop a better understanding of summarizing using key details. A summary is a brief description of the events in a text or chapter. Key details pertain to the information that is most important in understanding a text. These two skills combined help students in gaining insight into a story or informational piece.
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Teach students about character traits in Charlotte’s Web
In a follow up to our last lesson about summarizing key elements from Charlotte’s web today we will be focussing on Character traits from Charlotte’s Web.
This activity will allow students to develop an understanding of character traits that include personality traits as well as physical traits. Students will use characters’ actions and/or dialogue from the text to determine character traits.
Teaching students the vocabulary of Charlotte’s Web
This activity will allow students to explore vocabulary from Charlotte’s Web and practice using a dictionary to better understand words. Once students comprehend vocabulary, they can better make connections in text and, in conclusion, better understand the story.
Teaching poetry with Charlotte’s Web
Acrostic Poems are typically easy to write and can be used in any subject with any topics. Acrostic Poems allow creativity and spell out messages for readers to visually and mentally understand. This activity will promote student creative writing as well as character descriptions from the classic children’s novel Charlotte’s Web.
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Developing a deeper understanding of the characters of Charlotte’s Web
This activity will allow students to develop an understanding of characters in a more comprehensive manner. When students know which characters are important to the plot and climax in a story it helps to build the readers understanding of the text. This also allows students to make real-world connections and relate to the characters in a book much like they would in a movie. Mental images can be used by the reader to comprehend character(S) thoughts, moods, intentions, and feelings.
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Planning reading tasks for a whole novel takes time. If you’d rather start with something ready, our 125 Fun Reading Activities has 125 reading activities that work with any book ($7.95 on TpT).
Teaching synonyms through Charlotte’s Web
Synonyms are words or phrases with the same or similar meanings. This activity will practice identifying and locating synonyms for vocabulary words used in Charlotte’s Web. Synonyms enhance writing and allow students to vary vocabulary usage without changing the contextual meaning of the story.
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Teach students about antonyms through Charlotte’s Web
Antonyms are words or phrases with opposite meanings. This activity will practice identifying and locating antonyms for vocabulary words used in Charlotte’s Web. Antonyms are a vocabulary skill that is important due to changing sentence meaning.
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Constructing a literature response to ‘Charlotte’s Web’
Independent reading is a necessary real-world skill. In addition, classrooms expect independent readers by the time students reach elementary grades 4th and 5th. This activity will allow students to develop an understanding of how to respond to literature and how these responses build comprehension skills. The more students are focused on their reading the more independent they become. Literature responses improve student focus and can be used as formative assessments for standards related to literature and informational text.
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Teaching sequencing through ‘Charlotte’s Web’
This activity will allow students to think about the order of events in Charlotte’s Web. As students recall, specific actions that were performed by the characters, they are practising the vital reading skill known as sequencing. Undoubtedly, knowing the order in which events happen is a key skill in reading comprehension.
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Working with quotes from Charlotte’s Web
This activity will allow students to think about several key quotes from Charlotte’s Web. This activity would work great as a pre-reading assessment since it would allow students to reflect on what the words really reveal about the character BEFORE they truly get to know the characters. As students think about how spoken language creates personalities, they will gain more insight into the characters that entertain us throughout E. B. White’s book, Charlotte’s Web.
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Teaching persuasive writing through Charlotte’s Web
Persuasive writing is when an author writes to try to convince someone to share their feelings on a topic. Obviously, Fern wanted to keep Wilbur. She certainly didn’t want Mr. Arable to kill him. As students think about the reasons that Mr Arable should keep Wilbur, they will strengthen their opinion as to why Mr. Arable should keep him.
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Teaching math’s through Charlotte’s Web
This activity allows students to think about how science is represented in E. B. White’s novel, Charlotte’s Web. Students will explore the identities of different species that present in this treasured children’s novel. They will use their knowledge of the food chain to determine where different animals fit into the food chain. This requires critical thinking and allows the students to look at the novel from a unique scientific perspective.
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Teaching point of view through Charlotte’s Web
This activity will allow students to demonstrate understanding from a character’s point of view (1st person). There are numerous ways for readers to respond to literature. This promotes insight into text and allows students to reveal their thinking, feelings, and reactions to the literature they have read. This activity will also review and practice how to write a friendly letter correctly.
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Great Charlotte’s Web wordsearch and crossword
As part of our large collection of Charlotte’s web resources and teaching ideas feel free to download this great word search. It contains a solution as well. Enjoy.
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Charlotte’s Web characters
Use this character guide with the character traits lesson. Students should always back a trait with evidence: something the character says, does or chooses.
| Character | Who they are | Key traits | Evidence to discuss |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilbur | A spring pig, the runt of the litter, who grows up in the Zuckermans’ barn | Innocent, anxious, loyal | He sobs when he learns his fate (ch. 7) and later risks everything to carry Charlotte’s egg sac home (ch. 21). |
| Charlotte A. Cavatica | A large grey barn spider who becomes Wilbur’s friend | Wise, patient, clever, selfless | She spends her last weeks spinning words to save Wilbur, knowing she will not live to see him safe. |
| Fern Arable | The eight-year-old girl who saves Wilbur from her father’s axe | Compassionate, brave, growing up | She argues that killing the runt is unjust (ch. 1); by the fair she would rather ride the Ferris wheel with Henry Fussy. |
| Templeton | A rat who lives under Wilbur’s trough | Selfish, greedy, but useful | He only helps when there is something in it for him, yet he fetches the words and the egg sac. |
| Homer Zuckerman | Fern’s uncle, who buys Wilbur | Practical, easily impressed | He takes the web words as a miracle and decides Wilbur is too special to kill. |
| Mr and Mrs Arable | Fern’s parents | Mr: fair-minded. Mrs: worried | Mrs Arable visits Dr Dorian because Fern says the animals talk (ch. 14). |
| Avery Arable | Fern’s older brother | Noisy, careless | He tries to knock Charlotte down and breaks the rotten goose egg (ch. 10). |
| The goose and the old sheep | Barnyard animals | Bossy, knowing | The goose suggests ‘terrific’; the old sheep warns Wilbur about Christmas (ch. 7). |
| Lurvy | The Zuckermans’ hired man | Hard-working, superstitious | He is the first to see ‘SOME PIG’ in the web (ch. 11). |
| Dr Dorian | The family doctor | Calm, thoughtful | He tells Mrs Arable that Fern is fine, and that the web itself is the real miracle. |
| Joy, Aranea and Nellie | Three of Charlotte’s daughters | Loyal | They stay in the barn as Wilbur’s friends when their brothers and sisters float away (ch. 22). |
The setting of Charlotte’s Web
The story is set on two neighbouring farms in rural America in the middle of the twentieth century: the Arables’ farm, where Wilbur is born, and Homer Zuckerman’s barn down the road, where he spends most of the book. The final third moves to the noisy County Fair.
Time matters as much as place. The book follows one full year, from Wilbur’s birth in spring, through summer and autumn, to the following spring, when Charlotte’s eggs hatch. Ask students how the changing seasons mirror what happens to the characters, especially the feeling of summer ending in chapter 15.
Themes in Charlotte’s Web
Friendship and loyalty. Charlotte helps Wilbur with nothing to gain, and Wilbur repays her by protecting her children. Ask: what makes someone a true friend?
Life, death and the cycle of nature. The book opens with a death threat and ends with Charlotte’s death and her children’s birth. E. B. White treats death honestly, as part of a natural cycle.
The power of words. Four words in a web change how a whole community sees a pig. Students can discuss how labels and descriptions shape what people believe.
Growing up. Fern spends less time in the barn as she gets older. Her changing interests are a gentle way into talking about change.
Selflessness and selfishness. Charlotte gives everything; Templeton helps only for food. Comparing them is a strong paragraph-writing task.
For a writing task, have students choose one theme, state it as a full sentence about life (for example, “Real friends help without expecting anything back”), and support it with two moments from the book.
Charlotte’s Web chapter-by-chapter study guide
Use this study guide to teach Charlotte’s Web in five reading blocks. Each part has a short summary of every chapter, eight vocabulary words from those chapters with student-friendly meanings, discussion and comprehension questions, and one activity.
Part 1: Chapters 1 to 4
- Chapter 1. Before Breakfast: Fern stops her father from killing the runt of a new litter and is allowed to raise the piglet herself.
- Chapter 2. Wilbur: Fern bottle-feeds Wilbur. At five weeks old he is sold to her uncle, Homer Zuckerman.
- Chapter 3. Escape: Lonely in the Zuckermans’ barn, Wilbur escapes on the goose’s advice, then is lured back with a pail of slops.
- Chapter 4. Loneliness: On a rainy day nobody will play with Wilbur. That night a small voice in the dark offers to be his friend.
Vocabulary:
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| runt | the smallest, weakest animal in a litter |
| injustice | unfair treatment |
| trough | a long open container for animal food |
| commotion | a noisy, excited disturbance |
| frolic | to play and run about happily |
| glutton | someone who eats too much |
| dreary | dull and gloomy |
| dejected | sad and discouraged |
Discussion questions:
- Why does Fern think it is unfair to kill the runt? Do you agree with her?
- How does Wilbur feel after he escapes? Why does he give up so easily?
- Which animals refuse to be Wilbur’s friend in chapter 4, and why?
- What do you predict about the voice that speaks to Wilbur at the end of chapter 4?
Activity: Write Fern’s diary entry for the morning she saved Wilbur, using two feeling words and one quote from her father.
Part 2: Chapters 5 to 7
- Chapter 5. Charlotte: Wilbur meets Charlotte, a large grey spider. He is shocked to learn she traps and eats insects.
- Chapter 6. Summertime: The goose’s goslings hatch. Templeton takes the one egg that does not hatch.
- Chapter 7. Bad News: The old sheep tells Wilbur he is being fattened to be killed at Christmas. Charlotte promises to save him.
Vocabulary:
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| salutation | a greeting |
| fierce | violent or aggressive |
| meek | quiet and gentle |
| interlude | a short period between events |
| conscience | a sense of right and wrong |
| scruples | feelings that stop you doing something wrong |
| conspiracy | a secret plan |
| loathe | to hate very strongly |
Discussion questions:
- What is Wilbur’s first impression of Charlotte? How does it change?
- Charlotte says she has to eat insects to live. Is she cruel? Explain.
- What does Templeton’s behaviour with the goose egg tell us about him?
- How would you feel in Wilbur’s place after the old sheep’s news?
Activity: Make a ‘first impressions vs later’ chart for Charlotte, with evidence from chapters 5 and 7.
Part 3: Chapters 8 to 12
- Chapter 8. A Talk at Home: Fern tells her parents about the animals’ conversations, and Mrs Arable starts to worry.
- Chapter 9. Wilbur’s Boast: Wilbur tries to spin a web and fails. Charlotte is quietly working on a plan.
- Chapter 10. An Explosion: Avery tries to catch Charlotte, falls, and breaks the rotten goose egg. The stink saves her.
- Chapter 11. The Miracle: Lurvy finds the words SOME PIG in the web. Word spreads and crowds come to see Wilbur.
- Chapter 12. A Meeting: Charlotte calls a meeting to choose the next word. The goose suggests ‘terrific’.
Vocabulary:
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| delectable | delicious |
| gullible | easily tricked |
| sedentary | staying in one place, not moving much |
| bewilderment | great confusion |
| solemnly | in a serious way |
| sermon | a talk given by a minister in church |
| destiny | what is meant to happen to someone |
| adjourn | to end a meeting |
Discussion questions:
- Why is Mrs Arable worried about Fern? Should she be?
- How does luck save Charlotte in chapter 10?
- Why do the humans call the web a miracle, but not notice the spider?
- Why might ‘terrific’ be a good next word for Charlotte to choose?
Activity: Hold a class ‘meeting’ like chapter 12: in groups, choose the best word to describe Wilbur and justify it.
Part 4: Chapters 13 to 17
- Chapter 13. Good Progress: The web now reads TERRIFIC. Templeton brings back paper scraps, and Charlotte chooses RADIANT next.
- Chapter 14. Dr. Dorian: Mrs Arable visits the doctor about Fern, who reassures her and marvels at the spider’s web.
- Chapter 15. The Crickets: Summer is ending. Wilbur will go to the County Fair, and Charlotte may have to stay behind to lay her eggs.
- Chapter 16. Off to the Fair: Charlotte and Templeton hide in Wilbur’s crate and travel to the fair.
- Chapter 17. Uncle: At the fair, Wilbur’s rival is Uncle, a huge pig. Charlotte seems tired and unwell.
Vocabulary:
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| radiant | glowing with happiness or health |
| rummage | to search untidily |
| versatile | able to do many things |
| modest | not boastful |
| incessant | never stopping |
| monotonous | dull because it never changes |
| listless | having no energy |
| veritable | real, genuine |
Discussion questions:
- Does Wilbur really change to match each word, or do people just see him differently?
- What does Dr Dorian think is the real miracle? Do you agree?
- How does E. B. White make the end of summer feel sad in chapter 15?
- Why does Templeton agree to go to the fair?
Activity: Write a newspaper report about the TERRIFIC web, with a headline, a lead sentence and a quote from Mr Zuckerman.
Part 5: Chapters 18 to 22
- Chapter 18. The Cool of the Evening: Templeton brings back the word HUMBLE. Charlotte spins it and says it will be her last web.
- Chapter 19. The Egg Sac: Charlotte shows Wilbur her egg sac, her ‘magnum opus’. Uncle wins the blue ribbon, but Wilbur gets a special award.
- Chapter 20. The Hour of Triumph: Wilbur receives a medal in front of the grandstand, faints with excitement, and Templeton bites his tail to revive him.
- Chapter 21. Last Day: Charlotte tells Wilbur she is dying. He bargains with Templeton to fetch the egg sac and carries it home. Charlotte dies alone at the fair.
- Chapter 22. A Warm Wind: In spring the baby spiders hatch. Most float away, but three stay with Wilbur, and he never forgets Charlotte.
Vocabulary:
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| humble | not proud, modest |
| languish | to grow weak |
| phenomenon | a remarkable event |
| supernatural | beyond the laws of nature |
| desolation | great loneliness and sadness |
| forlorn | sad and alone |
| keepsake | something kept to remember someone |
| tranquil | calm and peaceful |
Discussion questions:
- Why is HUMBLE a fitting word for both Wilbur and Charlotte?
- How does Wilbur show he has grown up by the end of the book?
- Was it fair that Templeton was rewarded for his help? Explain.
- Why do you think E. B. White chose to let Charlotte die?
Activity: Write a eulogy for Charlotte from Wilbur’s point of view, using three of this part’s vocabulary words.
Want all of this ready to print? The free complete unit includes worksheets and answer keys, and our reading activities for any book work with every chapter.
A five-week Charlotte’s Web novel study
Here is one way to run the whole novel study in five weeks, pairing each reading block with two of the free lesson plans on this page. Read the chapters aloud or in guided groups early in the week, use the discussion questions daily, and finish each week with the lessons.
| Week | Read | Focus | Lessons from this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Chapters 1 to 4 | Story elements and summarising | Story elements; Summarising |
| Week 2 | Chapters 5 to 7 | Characters and vocabulary | Character traits; Vocabulary |
| Week 3 | Chapters 8 to 12 | Word study and sequencing | Synonyms; Sequencing |
| Week 4 | Chapters 13 to 17 | Persuasive and poetic writing | Persuasive writing; Acrostic poems |
| Week 5 | Chapters 18 to 22 | Point of view and response | Point of view letters; Literature response |
Finish the unit with the word search and crossword as a celebration, then compare the book with the 2006 film.
More Charlotte’s Web teaching ideas
- Teaching story elements: the full guide behind the story elements lesson.
- Reading activities for any book: choice boards and tasks for every chapter.
- Point of view: retell scenes from Templeton’s or the goose’s point of view.
- Letter writing: for persuasive letters from Fern to her father.
- How to run a novel study: plan your next class novel.
Ready for your next class novel? 125 Fun Reading Activities for Any Book gives you a full year of ready-to-use comprehension tasks that work with Charlotte’s Web and every novel after it.